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Freedom of Religion:
The world witnessed an unparalleled progress towards the internationalization of religious human rights in the 20th century. Freedom of religion evolved into an international human right, especially after the Second World War that all nations of the world are obliged to protect. The world’s parliament of religions was held in Chicago as far back as in 1893. A founding principle of this was that no religious group should be pressured into sacrificing its truth claims. International documents were developed in the 20th century to promote principles of religious liberty. The most significant among them were the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966), the U.N. Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and Discrimination based on Religion or Belief (1981), and the Vienna Concluding Document. These documents promote freedom of religion by explicatory significant universal rights. Of these four major international documents, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the United Nations in 1948, is by far the most vital. This pioneering document recognizes some important religious rights. The key text of the document is Article 18, which states that, “Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.”
The Declaration was written in the aftermath of the appalling terrors of World War II. It provides a yardstick by which the nations may learn to live in peace and cooperation. The central theme of the document is that individual religious differences must be respected. The role of the government is to protect the religious choice of its citizens. A vast majority of the modern nations of the world faced millennia of religious wars and persecution to arrive at this position. The Declaration imposed a moral obligation on all signatory nations.
The later documents went further and created a legal obligation to abide by its far-reaching principles. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966) prohibits religious discrimination, and includes the right of parents to direct the religious education of their children. It also protects members of ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities from being denied the enjoyment of their own culture. The United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief, adopted in 1981 provides a comprehensive list of rights regarding freedom of thought, conscience and religion. The Vienna Concluding Document (1989) urges respect for religious differences, especially among various faith communities. These international documents are not self-executing, that is, they are binding only on those nations that give them legal status.
The United States of America is a land of many faiths and the right to religious freedom is the foundation of the country. January 16th is declared to be Religious Freedom Day in the US. Freedom of religion is fundamental as it supports other fundamental rights such as the freedom of speech and the freedom of assembly. Every human has the right to religious freedom and must be able to, individually or in community, manifest beliefs by worship, observance, practice and teaching.
Religion in the Workplace:
Many states and cities in the United States have specific policies with regard to employee discrimination because of religion. Most of these policies are specified in the Equal Employment Opportunity Policy of the respective states and cities. Discrimination because of religion implies that a person cannot be treated in a hostile way because of their religion or because they do not have a religion. It also means that one cannot be disadvantaged or harassed because of their religion. Depending on the circumstances, a person may be allowed a reasonable accommodation for religious reasons.
Actions that are considered discriminating are insulting a co-worker’s religion, not being promoted because of one’s religious beliefs, or being denied a reasonable accommodation to pray in the workplace during lunch and break times. A reasonable accommodation for religion is a change in a rule of the workplace or a practice that allows a person to respect their religious beliefs. Companies must try to accommodate the religious observances, beliefs or practices of an employee, unless it would create an undue difficulty for the company. This would depend on the circumstances of the situation. Depending on the circumstances, companies could provide a reasonable accommodation for religion, for instance, flexible arrival and departure times, leave or voluntary swaps of shifts or assignments, time or place to pray, accommodations regarding appearance and dress, and some modifications of practices, policies and / or other procedures in the workplace. The company cannot provide an accommodation that is not requested for by the employee or that is too costly or difficult to provide, or one that would interfere with their performance of duties.
Despite agreements to curb laws that curtail the religious freedom of people, preventing them from freely expressing their religious beliefs, many governments are still imposing restrictions on individual religious liberty. The Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, also known as the Helsinki Commission, is an independent U.S. Government agency created in 1976 to monitor and encourage compliance with the Helsinki Final Act and other OSCE commitments.
Religion in Public School:
In public schools, the approach to religion must be academic and not devotional. While many religions have considerable similarities, they also have significant differences. Teaching about religion must be imparted as information, much in the same manner a political topic is taught and solely private speech by students can be allowed. Religion must not be taught as indoctrination, in order to convert students or force the conscience of a student or officially endorse a specific religion or religious perspective over a secular one. There must not be any discrimination against private religious expression or a school sponsorship of a message that is religious in nature. Religious differences, when questioned, bring out various responses. One response would state that all religions are the same and true, another would state that all religions are false and are basically misguided, and another would state that one religion is true and the rest are false. Another would state that though one religion is true, the others are partially true. Everyone has some active ideas about religious differences and carry them along as they encounter people of different religious faiths. The diversity of communities, traditions, beliefs and visions of a Divine Being are opportunities for mutual discovery, understanding and transformation. In public schools, students can pray individually or in groups or can discuss their religious views with their peers, as long as they are not disruptive. Students can also express their beliefs about religion in the form of homework, artwork, and other written and oral assignments. This should be free of discrimination based on the religious content of their submissions. Such home and classroom work should be judged by ordinary academic standards of substance and relevance, and against other legitimate pedagogical concerns identified by the school. Fair and balanced study about religion on the secondary school level includes critical thinking about historical events involving religious traditions. Religious beliefs have been at the heart of some of the best and some of the worst developments in the history of the world.
France Religion:
Officially France is a secular state like most of the Western Europe, with over 95 % of its population belonging to the Catholic religion. Yet owing to its past association with countries like Algeria, it has a sizable Moslem population as well. Against the present trend of Islamic religious fervor bordering on fanaticism and the resultant strife pervading all countries, the lower house of the French parliament had passed a law and set up civil and criminal penalties for activities by religious or philosophical groups that government officials have considered unacceptable. The upper house of the French parliament has approved the bill banning religious symbols in state schools including the Islamic head-scarf (the hijab), the Jewish skullcap, Christian crosses and Sikh turbans. The French government believes that this was necessary to uphold the country’s secularism.
As is customary, there was some consternation amongst the religious zealots whilst the average citizen went about his business as usual when the bill was approved.
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